Duncans vs Vampires
by writerchic16
Summary: Teddy discovers that her ancestor was a vampire thanks to a school project. When the Duncans then need a family of wizards to save them from a dangerous vampire coven, she begins to think maybe the A wasn't worth it.
1. Chapter 1

**Duncans vs. Vampires**

Summary: Teddy discovers that her ancestor was a vampire thanks to a school project. When she and her family are then protected by wizards because of a dangerous vampire coven, she begins to think maybe the A wasn't worth it.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Hi Charlie! You know that history project I had to do over the summer?" Teddy said to her video camera, in the typical upbeat tone she used for her diary. "Well..." She frowned, then panned the camera over to the living room coffee table in front of her, which was covered in old family pictures and documents. "It's not quite done yet."

Seated next to her on the couch, Ivy grabbed the front of the camera and turned it in her direction. "Turns out, your family's more messed up than even I thought."

"Cute," Teddy retorted as she she pointed the camera back at herself. "She means that researching the Duncan family tree involved calling some of our more..._unusual_ relatives. Like cousin Mia, who's an actress in LA." Teddy paused. "Yeah, we couldn't talk to her long beecause she was in a restaurant. Where she works as a waitress. But it's just temporary until she gets another gig."

"If it's anything like her last one, she better keep her day job," Ivy remarked. "I doubt 'Friend #2' on a sitcom that wasn't even picked up pays very well."

Teddy glared. "Hey, _My Neighbor, Bigfoot_ had a lot of promise. The writers just had some trouble when they realized...Bigfoot isn't really that interesting."

"Or how about the cousin who tried to sell us car insurance? After we already told him we don't have a car?" Ivy said, her eyebrow raised.

With a long sigh, Teddy turned back to the camera. "Sorry about her, Charlie. We're just frustrated. You see, my teacher for advanced placement U.S. history thought it would be _fun_ if everyone looked into their family trees over the summer. Then when the school year starts, we can match up everyone's ancestors to the time or place we're studying. And when I told you this at the beginning of the summer, I thought it would be fun too. But as it turns out - "

"It _stinks_. See, assignments like this are why I didn't take AP history this year."

Again, Teddy glared at Ivy. "Really? Silly me, I thought it was your C-minus in history _last_ year."

"Hey, you want to get snippy with me, I can go home. You don't need my C-minus brains helping with your _advanced placement_ project," Ivy snapped as she stood up to leave.

"No, Ivy, don't," Teddy said. Reluctantly, Ivy sat back down. The tired blonde gave her best friend an apologetic frown as she turned off the camera. "I'm sorry, I'm just so stressed. This project is due in two weeks, but I only traced as far back as the early eighteen-hundreds."

Ivy shrugged. "Sounds like enough to me."

"And it is. But on the assignment paper, the teacher said the only way to ace this project was to trace back until when your ancestors immigrated to America," Teddy explained. The task seemed totally impossible at this point. Calling cousins and great aunts, searching public records, and reading captions on the back of ancient pictures only got her so far. Her oldest-known ancestors were her many-times-great grandparents on her dad's side, who were upper-class, sophisticated plantation owners in the pre-Civil War south (she still had a hard time believing _that_ one). But records indicated that those great-grandparents had been born in Georgia, and there were journals of her great-grandmother's that confirmed her family had already been in the same town for generations. Any farther than that, and Teddy was stuck.

Amazed, Ivy just shook her head. "Man, I feel bad for the kid who's Native American Indian."

The joke was a welcome distraction from her anxious thoughts. Teddy laughed. "Who knows, maybe that's me. Given my luck with this project, I probably will have to go all the way back to before the United States was even the United States."

"At least your mom's family was easy enough," Ivy reminded her. "Great-grandma Kathleen came over from Ireland through Ellis Island in the 1940's. Done and done."

"Yup. That was the beginning of the summer, when I was filled with so much hope," Teddy said wistfully. She then glanced at the pile of papers again and stood up. "I think we deserve a break. Want a snack? I think there's still some brownies left, if Dad didn't bring the whole box to work for lunch."

"Right behind you," Ivy said, and the two went into the kitchen, where PJ and Gabe were on the hunt for snacks as well. Charlie sat in her high chair, cared for the boys since Amy was also at work, and Teddy needed to work on her project. Good thing the baby was happy to play with some toys, since the brothers weren't giving her any attention.

A book in his hand, Gabe was saying, "Look, you said the girl at the music store was smart, right? You tell her you're helping your little brother with his homework, she'll think you are too."

PJ just smirked. "You have to read _The Blind Side_. Just watch the movie! It was good - you know Sandra Bullock won the Emmy for it?"

"Mom won't let me rent it," Gabe whined. "And we don't have movie channels."

After a second of pretend consideration, PJ shrugged. "Sucks for you." With that, he grabbed a bag of chips on his way out to the basement.

A look of pure desperation crossed Gabe's face, and he went over to his sister. "Please read this book for me! Please, please please!"

"Get real, squirt. I've got enough work of my own," Teddy said as she pushed him aside on her way to the snack cabinet.

Ivy laughed, but took pity on the boy. "We have the DVD at my house. I'll bring it over tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Gabe exclaimed as he gave Ivy a suffocating hug. "God bless you, Ivy!" He tossed the book aside and ran into the backyard, all while screaming, "I'm free! I'm free!"

The girls laughed while they broke out the snacks. "I wish my project could be done by renting a movie," Teddy said with a sigh.

"T, your project couldn't be done after a whole summer of work," Ivy replied. "You did your best. And it's your first assignment, chances are it won't even count for much."

"I know, it's just..." Teddy paused as she took a bite of delicious brownie and swallowed. "At some point during the summer, my motivation changed. Not only do I want an A. _I want to know._ But now I'm not sure if I'm ever going to find out."

When talkative Ivy had nothing to say, Teddy took it as silent agreement. And her cue to reach for another brownie.

* * *

Even though he was starting his first year of classes at New York University in two weeks, college wasn't even on Justin's mind. Mason had been returned to full form a couple of weeks ago and, despite the progress Justin had made to get over Juliet, he had quickly reverted to his determination to cure her. Part of the reason he'd at first able to put his longing for her aside when Harper confronted him was because he'd accepted that he couldn't help the vampire, no matter how hard he tried.

But the magic instruments that cured Mason gave him new hope.

Before, he'd been using his many contacts from Wiztech to see if there was a spell or a potion that would reverse Juliet's aging. Unfortunately, every full wizard he spoke to insisted that wizard magic had very little effect on vampires, certainly not enough to cure Juliet. That was why the Stone of Dreams couldn't help him. Naturally, the enchanted object that had saved his family was his first thought when he began his research. However, after reading up on the Stone, he realized it was made of wizard magic. So even though it could reverse time, it couldn't bring Juliet back. Of course, he'd considered wishing that the incident in Transylvania never happened, but messing with time was just too risky.

That said, he'd also realized that the charmed instruments were wizard magic as well. Still though, it helped him develp a different theory. What if, similar to the instruments, there was an object out there that could be the cure? An object with a different kind of magic?

At the moment, he was in the lair on the wizard computer, emailing a wizard archaeologist he'd met when the scientist gave a lecture at Wiztech. Professor Greene had mentioned in passing that a large chunk of marble that'd been chipped off the actual Fountain of Youth had been discovered. Authorities suspected it had some of the fountain's de-aging properties. Justin wanted to know if any of those suspicions had been confirmed since the lecture had been given a year ago.

Right as he clicked "send," the lair door opened. Justin quickly put the computer away and grabbed a random book, so he could pretend to be studying. When he started his research, he thought it would be best if he didn't let his family know how much time he actually spent on it. They'd he worry he was obsessed again, which he really wasn't. Okay, maybe a little. But not enough where it affected other aspects of his life too much, so he felt justified in keeping the secret so he wouldn't be hassled.

His father walked in, and Justin waved. "Hey Dad, time for Alex and Max's lesson?" While he pissed showing off his superior knowledge to his siblings, he was glad he didn't have to attend class anymore. He had more time to research while most of his family was preoccupied.

"Yeah. Boy, I miss having you in class," Jerry, then let out a nostalgic a sigh. "It was nice when somone actually paid attention. Did their homework. Passed a test. Shoot, at this point I'd be happy if either one of them showed up on time."

Justin chuckled while he put away the decoy book. He didn't need it after all since his father wasn't curious why he was in the alir. "I thought Alex was trying to be a better student."

"Well, that went out the window when Mason came back," Jerry explained with a frustrated groan. "Apparently, magic only matters to her when she's alone and depressed. Now she's all, 'Daddy, I'm going to give up my powers for Mason anyway, so why bother?'" The quotation was said in a high-pitched girly voice, that really didn't sound like Alex at all.

"Works for me. Means I'm that much close to winning the competition," Justin said. He smirked. "Though I doubt Alex had a chance anyway. That time in Puerto Rico was a fluke. My disappearing memory held me back."

Jerry nodded. "That's what I think too. Now, I'd ask you to stay and help out with the lesson, but your mom said you're grounded unless you help her with the Sub Station. She says you keep disappearing on her." At that, Jerry gave his son a worried frown. "That's not like you. Are you okay?"

Though he kept a casual smile on his face, Justin wanted to smack himself. In his effort to squeeze in more research time when his family wasn't around, he'd forgotten his responsibilities at the shop. Maybe he should cut back his work, if just to throw off suspicion. "Yeah, uh, got a new monster I need to track down, that's all."

Despite the solid lie, Jerry still narrowed his eyes. "Justin, I know you're trying to find Juliet again. You left her parents' WizFace pages open when I went to use the wizard computer a few days ago."

"I was just checking to see if there was any news about Juliet's condition since I hadn't checked in a while," Justin insisted, maybe a little too defensively. Most vampires had social networking pages, even on mortal sites like Facebook. It was an easy way they could convince unsuspecting victims to come right to them. True, it was a disturbing practice, and monster hunters were obligated to report such pages. But Justin simply kept a watchful eye on the van Heusens' pages, both so he could look for status updates about Juliet, and so he could protect himself by keeping track of their location. Since what happened to their daughter was his fault, he wasn't exactly their favorite person. "And to make sure they're still in Transylvania. I mean, I have to keep an eye on the enemy, right?"

The argument didn't make his father any less concerned. "Justin, college is two weeks away. You should be focusing on that. I know I am. Even with your scholarship, it still hurt when I wrote that first tuition check. Still hurts, actually. I'm thinking of taking those free stress management classes they're offering at the gym down the street."

"I get it, Dad. Relax. Zeke and I have plans to get our books tomorrow," Justin said while he hurried out of the lair to avoid further questioning. "See? College is all I'm thinking about."

* * *

Alex kept her arm tight around Mason's waist, and enjoyed the warmth of his arm on her shoulders, as they stood on the Russos' roof to gaze at the Manhattan skyline. Of course, there wasn't a full moon yet, otherwise wolf Mason would be roaming the nearby woods in upstate New York alone. But for the moment, they were simply a girl and a guy in love enjoying each others' company. "I love you," Alex whispered, her head on his shoulder. "I'm so glad you're back."

"I know. You've told me every day since," Mason teasted gently. He then kissed the top of Alex's head. "And I love you too."

The kiss made Alex's smile widen, which she hadn't thought was possible. She just couldn't believe how perfect her life had been since his return. Their days were spent painting in the tunnel Alex frequented, or walked in Central Park, or maybe went to an art museum. At night, they had dinner out together almost every night. Fortunately, after living for centuries, Mason had a bank account big enough to support himself _and_ spoil Alex. All he had to do was paint a piction, then a hundred years later, antique dealers went nuts over it. Because of this, Mason had an impressive apartment on the upper west side. Alex was insanely jealous...and much to her frustration, not allowed to go there alone, thanks to her overprotective parents.

"I can't wait until I'm eighteen," Alex said, her head still on his shoulder. "Then we can live in that big apartment of yours, and turn that extra bedroom next to your art studio, into an art studio for me."

Mason laughed. "His and hers art studios. I like it."

"Mhm. We'll be the ultimate art couple," Alex said, then added, "Of course, I'll have to cast a spell on you that makes it look like you're getting older. Otherwise it would be weird."

At that, Mason tensed. When Alex gave him a questioning look, Mason explained, "Sorry, I just thought that you wouldn't have your powers then. Wizards aren't allowed to marry non-wizards."

"Oh. Right." Alex frowned. Funny how she kept imaging that she had powers in the future. "Then we'll get Justin to cast the spell. No problem."

"Or Max," Mason joked. They both burst out laughing. "Still, Alex, I really think you should focus on your studies more."

Alex kissed his cheek. "Aw, I love it when you look out for me. But you just reminded me I'd have to give up my powers anyway."

"You never know, we might have kids one day," Mason pointed out. At her surprised glance, he grinned. "You're not the only one who thinks about our future. Our kids are going to be half-wizard. Someone will have to teach them."

"We'll hire a tutor, then. Or send them to Wiztech." At the disproval in his expression, she insisted, "Come _on_. _Me_, a _teacher_? So not happening. Besides, we probably shouldn't have kids anyway. I mean, they'd be half-wizard and half-werewolf! That has 'messed up, dysfunctional family' written all over it. Trust me, I know messed up and dysfunctional."

His arm still around her, Mason let out a loud chuckle. "I suppose we'll have to wait and see what the future holds for us, then."

"Yup. For now, we can just look at the stars." She took out her wand and pointed it at the sky. "_Star light, star bright, now the stars we see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, make a shape in the light._"

A bright blue spark flew from the tip of Alex's wand and hit the dome of the dark city sky. Clouds parted, and then the night was crystal clear, lit up by millions of stars. A small group of those stars directly above the couple moved into the shape of a paint brush.

"Wow," Mason whispered in happy awe, which instantly made Alex smile again.

"I knew you'd like it," Alex said as she put her wand back in her boot. "You've been spoiling me a lot lately. So I wanted to do something for you. And this was what I could afford."

Mason stared at the constellation for a second longer, then brought his face close to hers. "You're amazing, Alex Russo."

They were about to kiss, when excited shouts drifted from the street below. The couple froze, and Mason asked, "That sounds like...Zeke, doesn't it?"

Curious, they ran to the side of the building and looked over Waverly Place. Zeke and Harper had been out for a walk, but Zeke was not pointing frantically at the inexplicably bright night sky, and the unusual constellation. Also confused at first, Harper looked up until she spotted Alex on the roof.

Then she crossed her arms and gave her best friend a death glare, while her distracted boyfriend focused on the impossible night sky.

"Oh no," Alex groaned.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next day, Teddy and Ivy continued to work on the daunting project. For a change of scenery, they'd moved the boxes of pictures they planned to look through up to Tedd's room. The new location also kept the downstairs coffee table clean, so Bob wouldn't complain that the papers blocked his view of the television.

"Okay, I'm just gonna say it," Teddy said as she quickly glanced at the back of each picture for new last names. She didn't bother to look at the actual pictures anymore. "This stopped being interesting an hour ago."

Seated in Teddy's desk chair, Ivy remarked, "You thought this was interesting at some point?" Her pile of pictures lay on the desk next to the keyboard, while Ivy took a "short" break to check her email. "Oh! Thirty-percent off at that shoe store in the mall this week! Let's take a break!"

"I thought you _were_ taking a break," Teddy said with a nod at the email page.

Ivy waved a dismissive hand. "I mean we need to get out of this house! There's a whole wide world out there, but we wouldn't know it because we've been here all summer long!"

"You exaggerate. A lot," Teddy protested, yet she sighed and stood up from her bed. "But you do have a point. I guess an hour at a shoe sale won't be so bad."

In a second, Ivy grabbed her purse and was ready to go. "That's my girl! Let's go before you change your mind!"

About to get her purse as well, Teddy paused. "Wait, did my mom leave for work yet? I can't leave Gabe and Charlie here alone."

Ivy opened the door to the hallway. The sounds of a movie could be heard from the living room. She sighed. "Shoot, Gabe's watching his movie. Your mom must've left."

"Then I guess we're stuck until PJ gets home in a few minutes. Back to - " Teddy was cut off when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID - she didn't recognize the number, but she wasn't surprised given how many relatives she'd been trying to contact. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Teddy?"

"Yeah...Aunt Sarah? Did you read the rest of the diaries?" Teddy asked hopefully. Seventy-year-old great-aunt Sarah had found the first diary that had helped Teddy place her ancestors in pre-Civil War Georgia. After looking through her attic some more, Sarah had found other diaries and promised she would let Teddy know if they contained any more important information.

"Yes, and yes. Turns out the ancestor who wrote those diaries was also interested in our family history. She has stories that go back to the very beginning of our family line, near the end of the sixteen-hundreds in the northeast American colonies, New York I think."

The incredibly helpful information made Teddy's heart beat so fast, it almost stopped. "Aunt Sarah, that's amazing, thank you! Tell me everything and don't leave out a single detail!"

For the next half hour, Ivy held the phone, the speaker on, while Teddy wrote down every word her aunt said. Apparently, the Duncan line began in colonial New York, where Juliet van Heusen, a stranger passing through the colony, fell in love with a local. The two married, and she gave birth to a son. But after the baby was born, she mysteriously vanished, never heard from again. The father, whose name had been lost over the years, never got over his love. He reluctantly re-married, but only so the boy would have a mother.

When Aunt Sarah was finished, Teddy thanked her again and ended the call. "Wow," Teddy remarked. "That's so sad. I wonder what happened to Juliet."

"Yeah," Ivy replied. Then she stood up from Teddy's desk chair. "Thank goodness this project's done. I heard PJ get home during your call, so I say we treat ourselves to a shopping spree. We'll start at the shoe sale, then go counter-clockwise from there. We'll hit the food court sooner that way, and girl, I am starving!"

Teddy laughed. "Whoa, not so fast. I just got the information I needed. I still have to put it into the project."

"Are you kidding me, T? We were just about to take a break!" Ivy whined.

_She does have a point_, Teddy thought. And to be honest, she could use some lunch too. Her stomach had grumbled so loud during the call, she'd worried her aunt would hear it. "Okay, fine," she relented. "But just lunch, then the shoe sale. And that's _it_."

* * *

Of course, they stayed at the mall a little longer than Teddy had wanted. After lunch, and the shoe sale, they ended up going to all their usual favorite stories. By the time Teddy got home several hours later, she had a new pair of boots from the sale, and a couple of new outfits to match. Then when she got home, she got distracted again because she had to try on her outfits again and admire them in her bedroom mirror. She couldn't help it if it was a post-shopping tradition.

Dinner followed, and when she got up to her room, she had to clean up the mess from both the pictures and the clothes that'd left on her bed. She'd then remembered she had to update her video diary with the information she found out that day. When everything was said and done, it was about nine o'clock. Too late to work on a project, especially after a day of shopping. But actually, Teddy didn't mind as much as she thought she would that the rest of the day had been a bust. During the course of her time at the mall, she'd realized how much she'd needed to de-stress. Worrying about and working on the assignment so much had worn her down, to the point where she couldn't even see what it was doing to her. Even if she went back to finishing up her project the next day, at least she'd had a good, long break.

And if she was going to take a day of rest, she was going to do it right. "Okay, Facebook," she said to herself as she loaded up the page for the first time in a week. "What have I missed...whoa, that's a lot of requests."

It took her an hour to get through them all, and the tediousness of processing application requests caused her mind to wander back to her project. Out of curiosity, she typed "van Heusen" into the search box.

Her jaw actually dropped when there were two exact matches, Alucard and Cindy van Heusen. _Wow_, she thought. _Maybe they're distant cousins!_Thrilled at the idea, she clicked on Alucard's page, relieved to see that it was set to public. _Alucard, that's an interesting name...wait, that's Dracula backwards!_

"Wow, his parents must have been _big_ horror fans."

His info page only revealed that he lived in Transylvania, and Cindy van Heusen was his wife. They also had a daughter.

"Juliet?" Teddy exclaimed. _They must have named their daughter after their ancestor! They _are_ my cousins!_ Excited, she clicked on the only photo album listed called _The Late Nite Bite_, which featured pictures of the family at a restaurant.

She gasped when she came across a close-up picture of their daughter. If there was any doubt in Teddy's mind that these people were her relatives, it was gone in that instant. Juliet could have been her twin. Same blond hair, same face, same build. Sure, it seemed this Juliet preferred skirts and blouses Teddy would never wear, but otherwise they were identical.

"Oh...my...God..." Teddy whispered, her eyes riveted to the screen in shock. With trembling fingers, she managed to type out identical messages she sent separately to both Alucard and Cindy.

_Dear Mr. van Heusen,_

_This may sound strange, but I believe my family and yours share a common ancestor, Juliet van Heusen. Not only have you apparently named your daughter after her, but if you look at my profile picture, it's clear that amazingly enough, your Juliet and I could pass for identical twins._

_I understand that this might not interest you, but I really want to speak with out about the original Juliet van Heusen. My school assignment for the summer was to research my family tree, and I believe she's my earliest paternal ancestor. From research, I only know that she stayed with my many-times-great-grandfather long enough to have a son, then mysteriously disappeared. I'd love to hear any more stories you might know about her life._

_I hope to hear from you soon._

_Sincerely,_

_Teddy Duncan_

Her hands still shaking after both messages were sent, she went back to looking through the album of about fifty pictures. Most were just of a van Heusen doing something in the restaurant, like clearing a table or making a sandwich. At first Teddy thought it weird for people to take pictures while working. But then she went back to the album cover picture of the restaurant, and saw that the caption read "Our New Home." She supposed it madesense that the family wound want to document a new chapter in their life. Teddy's own family had a whole slide show of pictures from when her parents renovated the office floor that would house her father's exterminator business.

The last picture in the album made her pause. It showed Juliet, ready for the prom, standing next to a very cute date. Teddy moused over the guy's face to see if he was tagged. The name that appeared was "Justin Russo." Since clicking on random profiles was automatic when she surfed Facebook, she checked out his profile too. Then she frowned.

His status was two words. _Missing Juliet_. And his bio revealed that he was single.

"What happened?" Teddy asked aloud. The couple seemed totally in love, even while posed for their prom picture. She saw that same love in every one of the couple's pictures posted on Justin's page. If they were broken up, even if he still loved her after she'd dumped him, surely he would have taken those pictures down. Unless he was a creepy stalker type who was obsessed with her.

Then it ocurred to Teddy that Juliet didn't have a page of her own. Her heart sank. Had there been an accident? Did something horrible happen to Juliet?

Suddenly, Teddy's instincts screamed at her to message Justin as well, though she wasn't sure why she would. _It couldn't hurt_, she reasoned. _And he might be able to help me reach the van Heusen's if they don't reply. _Quickly, before she lost her nerve, Teddy clicked on the message button. To calm herself down, she read aloud as she typed.

"Dear Justin...this might seem strange, but..."

* * *

"...I've been doing some research on my family tree over the summer for my school project, and I'm pretty sure that Juliet van Heusen and I are distant cousins. We share an ancestor, who Juliet is named after. I'm sorry if this is painful for you since it appears that you and Juliet are broken up, but I wanted to make contact with you, in case the van Heusens' are reluctant to return my messages. I also need more information about the original Juliet van Heusen, and since your ex-girlfriend is her namesake, I thought she might have told you some stories as well. I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Teddy Duncan."

When he was done reading the troublesome message he'd opened that morning, Justin turned to his father, who was standing nearby. "Well?" Justin asked. He really hoped his father could reassure him that the girl, who he'd been shocked to see _did_ look exactly like Juliet in her picture, wasn't in danger.

Instead, Jerry let out a worried sigh. "I'm sorry, but if she's already contacted them, then my guess is that she's definitely in serious trouble. The van Heusens will see her as easy pickings. No doubt they're on their way to America now." He paused, as if he'd remembered a rarely-accessed memory. "Wait, if she's Juliet's ancestor, then both she _and_her family are in trouble. Mortals with vampire blood in them, no matter how faint, are usually very powerful vampires when turned. No doubt the van Heusens will want the Duncans for their vampire coven."

"_What_? Dad, there has to be something I can do!" Justin insisted. As a monster hunter - shoot, as a _human being_ - he couldn't just sit back while innocent mortals became prey for vampires. _Wait, monster hunters...that's not a bad idea! _"I'll contact the monster hunters! They can stand guard at Teddy's house!"

Jerry just gave him a skeptical glance. "Do you know her address to give to the monster hunters? Even if she contacted you first, I doubt this girl will give a stranger her personal information."

"I'm a wizard! I'll track her address down," Justin reminded him, but he still made a mental note that he would have to start working on that as soon as possible. "In the meantime, I'll reply and tell her to stay away from the van Heusens."

"That might help," Jerry replied, though his tone was doubtful. "What are you going to tell her?"

Not really concerned about the minor detail, Justin shrugged. "I don't know, I'll make up something. She was worried they wouldn't reply anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard to convince her."

"Well, good luck with that, then," Jerry said as he started to leave, then frowned at the thumbnail of Teddy's profile picture next to the message. "I hope you can save her, Justin. If there's any way I can help, let me know."

"Thanks, Dad." While Jerry headed for the hallway, Justin quickly read the message again, though he practically had it memorized. Still, a sentence that hadn't really clicked with Justin before that moment made him call his father back. "Dad, wait." When Jerry turned around, Justin asked, "The Juliet who lived in the sixteen-hundreds _is_ my Juliet, right?"

Jerry raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart kid."

"Very funny. I meant...well..." Justin paused, not sure how to handle the awkward question. He and Juliet had never reached that point where he'd needed to ask her. And he hadn't come across it in his studies yet. "If vampires are dead, then shouldn't they not be able to have kids?"

Much to Justin's total humiliation, Jerry was stunned by the question. "You mean you and Juliet never...talked about it?"

"Hey, she was captured by a mummy, then scratched by a werewolf," Justin snapped, more harshly than he'd intended. "There wasn't much time for us to...'talk.'"

"Okay, okay! Sorry."

"It's all right." Justin paused. "For the record, that talk never happened."

"Agreed," Jerry replied, then shook his head. "_Anyway_, yes, vampires can have children if they've been around long enough. Vampires over a thousand years old tend to develop so much power that they almost bring themselves back to life. Some even start needing actual nourishment in addition to blood. I'd imagine that Juliet was even more human than most because she had a soul."

Juliet was, at the moment, an ancient crone who most likely wouldn't make it until her next birthday. But she still required present-tense. "_Is_ even more human," Justin corrected sharply. "And _has_ a soul."

"Right, of course," Jerry said. He hesitated, then added, "Look, Justin, I know I give you a hard time about how much you think about Juliet. But I really am sorry you had to go through what you did. And that now you have you have to deal with this situation..." He indicated Teddy's message. "While you're still hurting."

Surprised, Justin foced a smile to show his appreciation for the usually sentimental words. "Thanks, Dad. In a way, helping Teddy might give me some closure. If I can't save Juliet, at least I'll be able to save her grandchildren."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Most of the time, Alex Russo didn't care if other people were angry with her. Actually, when "other people" was her older brother, she thoroughly enjoyed it. But furious Harper had barely spoken to her since the constellation incident two nights ago. And the silence was driving Alex crazy.

"Come _on_, Harper!" Alex whined as she stomped around the small loft kitchen, following her best friend. Harper ignored the annoyed wizard while she made herself lunch. "It's not like I _meant_ for Zeke to see me use magic!" Alex insisted. "And so he's a little obsessed with the paintbrush! He'll get over that when he never sees it again!" Her hands on her hips, she said, "You know what, you're just _really_ overreacting to something that's not even a big deal. _I_ should be mad at _you_!"

To emphasize her point, Alex whirled around so her back was to Harper and crossed her arms. When there was no response for almost half a minute, Alex discreetly glanced over her shoulder. Her salad made, Harper had put down on the coffee table, then picked up the remote to turn on the television.

Pushed to her limit, Alex stomped over to the living area and grabbed the remote from Harper's hand. "Why are you so mad at me when I didn't even do anything?"

Finally, Harper slowly stood up to face Alex, then with pure, cool anger in her voice, explained, "Alex, I _told_ you that Zeke and I were going outside, right before you and Mason went up to the roof. _You_ just didn't care because _you_ wanted to do the spell. You can be so selfish, and sometimes, other people suffer because of it."

Though her face was hot with shame, Alex tried to defend herself. "That's not true, Harper! I didn't even hear what you said because I was waiting for Mason!"

"So you didn't even listen to me! Yeah, _that's_ better!" Harper retorted as the anger started to heat up. "Even if you had heard me...Alex, that was such a reckless use of magic! You can't do that in a big city like this! You're lucky your little light show didn't end up on the news! What were you _thinking_?"

While she'd been feeling guilty up until that point, Harper's reprimand really did get under her skin. "Please, even I'm not that stupid! When wizards cast spells on stars like I did, cloaking magic makes it so only people standing around the wizard can see it. And I was _thinking_ that I wanted to do something nice for my boyfriend! You're not my parent - you're not supposed to treat me like a child!"

"Then grow up!" Harper spat. Alex actually stepped back, surprised that such harsh sentiment had come from her best friend. Not taking any note of this, Harper continued, "Do you think I like keeping _your_ secret from _my _boyfriend? It kills me inside every time I have to explain away something weird! In fact, the only reason I can stand it at all is because he'd probably have a meltdown if he did find out!" She shook her head. "Fortunately for you, Zeke is easily traumatized."

Then Alex understood. Harper was stressed out over keeping the secret from Zeke, probably since Zeke had seen Mason transform. But in Alex's opinion that didn't give Harper the right to yell at her that way. "I get it, okay? It was hard for me to keep the secret when I had a mortal boyfriend too. But you just have to _deal_! I did, and I was the one with magic!"

"Alex, that's not the point!" Harper insisted. "Since Mason got back, you've been even more careless and irresponsible than you usually are! You've been skipping every one of your magic lessons, and missing shifts at the restaurant. Plus we've barely seen you because you're always with Mason. I'm worried about you, and I worry about what will happen when school starts in less than two weeks."

Even though Harper's words held only concern, Alex's temper spiked again. She'd heard the same lecture from her parents recently, now this. She was sick of Harper siding with her parents. A real best friend should be thrilled that Alex was finally happy and in love, not bringing her down with issues that, in Alex's opinion, didn't matter. "Stop being my parent!" Alex shouted. "I already have two. I don't need another one! If you really were my best friend, you'd understand that!"

Hurt crossed Harper's expression, but she didn't shout back. Her voice stayed normal speaking level. "I do understand, but since your parents aren't getting through to you, I thought maybe you'd register what was happening if you heard it from me." Harper looked down, but not before Alex saw that her eyes were watery. "I guess you don't care that I miss you."

"I do care, and I wish we could hang out more," Alex said with strained calm, through plenty of fury below the surface. "But I've missed Mason so much. And I plan to spend every second I can with him."

This time, her stomps were real as she went out to the hallway. She needed to meet Mason for lunch.

* * *

When Teddy woke up that morning, she almost believed that finding a cousin who looked exactly like her had been an odd dream brought on by so much family research. But then, after she logged onto Facebook, there was a message from Alucard's account, and friend requests from both Alucard and Cindy. Though she felt silly about it, she clicked the pictures of Juliet again to make sure they were as identical as Teddy had thought they were the night before.

Yup, still identical.

Her heartbeat fast with excitement, she clicked on the message.

_Dear Teddy,_

_Cindy and I received quite a shock when we saw your picture. While it is difficult to speak with someone who looks so much like our beloved daughter, we are eager to make ties with your family. You see, Cindy and I are on our own now, so we are delighted that you have reached out to us. I nfact, we will be in the States next week, and now plan to stop in your area, which we saw on your profile. We do have many stories to share about our common ancestor, and look forward to sharing them with you._

_Sincerely_

_Alucard and Cindy van Heusen_

"Wait..._what?_"

Teddy stared at the screen for a good minute while she processed what just happened. She had only sent the messages hoping for some colorful anecdotes she could add to her projects, since it also required a formal essay. Now it seemed she'd added a couple more relatives to her already-abundant extended family. And they would be coming all the way from Transylvania to see her within the next week. Did they think they were staying at her house? Her mom would _not_ be happy about playing host to strangers on such short notice.

But the van Heusens had already made plans to visit, and Teddy wasn't sure how she could politely ask them to stay at a hotel when they were coming a long way just to visit her.

Well, there was only one thing to do.

"_Mom!_"

Moments later, Amy was in Teddy's doorway, dressed in scrubs. "What is it, Teddy? I leave for work in a few minutes!" Amy worked as a nurse in the town's hospital, so her schedule often changed daily.

Unfortunately this meant Teddy didn't have much time to tell her incredible story. She took a deep breath, then answered, "For my project I found that Juliet van Heusen is Dad's ancestor then I fount out two van Heusens on Facebook and they had a daughter that could've been my twin so I messaged them and now I think they're staying with us when they're in the States next week."

Amy just gave her a blank stare and repeated, "What is it, Teddy?"

"I'm serious, look!" Teddy insisted as she brought up the picture of Juliet she'd left open.

Skeptical, Amy still went over to Teddy's computer. "Oh wow! She does look like you, that's so weird!" She then narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "They're not staying here."

"But - "

No buts, Teddy! You have to be kidding if you think we're ready to have guests!" Amy retorted. "The house is a mess, and in case you haven't noticed, I've been taking more shifts at the hospital this summer. You and PJ or Ivy can meet up with them in a public place if you want, but they're not staying here."

Her arms crossed in a childish poit, even though it was the expected response, Teddy snapped, "So what am I supposed to tell them when they come all the way from Transylvania?"

"Transylvania? What are they, vampires?" Amy joked. At Teddy's unamused look, she said, "Look, just tell them that your mean old mom is being like, totally unfair and said they can't stay. I don't care if they are relatives, we don't know them. And we have enough extended family we never see as it is."

Before Teddy could argue, a _bloop _sounded from the Facebook page. Amy glanced at it, curious. "What was that?"

"I have a message," Teddy explained. Her fake pout vanished while she eagerly clicked it open with the thought it was probably from Justin. Sure enough... "It's from Juliet's ex-boyfriend."

As she looked at the message, Amy said, "Oh, he's yummy! Why'd you email him? Thinking of dumping Spencer?"

"_Mom!_" Teddy exclaimed, totally embarrassed. She then explained that it seemed something had happened to Juliet, especially after the message from Alucard, so she'd emailed Justin for back up. "I guess I didn't need to contact him after all, now that I know the van Heusens want to help."

Since Amy had read the message while her daughter spoke, she pointed to the message in surprise. "Good thing you did, though! 'Dear Teddy, whatever you do, do _not_talk to or meet up with the van Heusens! I loved their daughter, but her parents are awful people who will take everything you've got. They're professional con artists. Don't believe a word they say. Chances are they're already figuring out how how to get money from you. Please, I beg you, just forget about the van Heusens.'" Amy paused. "Well, you're not meeting them now. No way."

Teddy whirled around to glare at her mother. After all she went through for this project, she was not going to let one little, probably biased note stand in her way now. "Mom, come _on_!" It's Juliet's _ex-boyfriend_, of course he's not going to be especially happy with them right now!"

"But you don't know the van Heusens either! For all you know, they _could_ be con artists!" Amy pointed out.

Reluctantly, Teddy realized her mother was right. Maybe she'd been quick to trust the van Heusens because of how much she needed information from them. "Fine, how about this. I still meet up with them, but either you or Dad go with me."

After a few seconds' consideration, Amy nodded. "I'll have to ask your father about it, but that sounds good to me. Thank you for understanding." She glanced at the time on the computer, then kissed the top of Teddy's head. "I gotta go. PJ just left for work, so you're on babysitting duty. Gabe's downstairs reading his book, and Charlie's with him." At Teddy's surprised expression, Amy laughed. "I saw the DVD cover. Make sure he reads."

"Got it, Mom," Teddy said with a chuckle as her mother left. Then she typed up a reply to Justin's message:

_Dear Justin,_

_Thanks for the warning, but I'm still going to meet up with the van Heusens, who said they're going to be in the States next week. I think they can really help me. Don't worry, I'll bring a parent with me, and we'll be careful._

_Thanks again,_

_Teddy_

_

* * *

_

"She replied!"

In his excitement, he jumped up and pointed at the screen. "It's from Teddy!"

"Teddy...such odd girls' names in this century," Cindy van Heusen remarked as she went to read the message along with her husband. "So her mother said we will have to get a hotel room, but Teddy and her parents would love to meet us." The vampiress paused. "Rather rude, don't you think? We're traveling from so far away, and she won't even provide room and board."

That wasn't the point of the message, but Alucard forced down an impatient retort. Instead, he replied, "My sweet Cynthia, none of that will matter when this Duncan family is part of our coven, and our daughter is returned to her former glory." They kept ancient Juliet in the spare room of their underground lair, where she lay slowly dying ever since the werewolf fight. Except when she went to check on the wizard for her birthday - that journey had taken most of energy she'd had left.

"Well, I was just _saying_. Why are you always so dramatic?" Cindy retorted. She then ignored her him and went back to preparing for their long flight. Since they could only fly at night, and needed to find somewhere to stay each morning, ir would take them about a week to reach the Duncans where they were in America.

Alucard let out an exaggerated sigh. How could he not be passionate when he spoke of such an important occasion? Of course snarky Cindy wouldn't see it that way. So he let it go and asked, "Is the elixir packed?"

"Doing so now, dear." Cindy held up a large vial full of a dark red liquid, but it was thinner than mortal blood. After Juliet's werewolf scratch, they'd spent months searching for an evil wizard who would make it for them. Finally they'd found one, and when they first saw Teddy's picture, bought the ready-made potion from the wizard in the black market.

When he caught sight of the cure for his daughter's condition, Alucard instantly dismissed his wife's complaint and went for the full, theatrical rant. "Wonderful! At first, after that monstrous werewolf turned our daughter into an old cone, I thought we would never find a mortal body perfect enough to host our dear Juliet's soul. Imagine my joy when I laid my eyes on this Teddy Duncan's photograph! Right away I knew she was the key to saving our daughter's soul from turning to ask along with her body." He ran over to bored Cindy and grabbed the vial from her. "But this! This marvelous elixir will knock that unfortunate mortal's soul into the afterlife, then absorb Juliet's soul into the empty vessel. Teddy Duncan will be no more, but our daughter will be reborn!"

Cindy just raised an eyebrow. "You done?"

Upset that his moving speech had no effect on her, Alucard grumbled, "Yes, dear," and handed her back the vial.

Dramatic villainy got no respect anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Hello, this is Monster Hunter Justin Russo. I'm looking for some fellow hunters to protect a family of mortals." The wizard on the other end asked the question Justin dreaded every time he'd made the call since he got Teddy's reply email. Reluctantly, he answered, "A vampire coven led by Alucard and Cindy van Heusen...hello?"

There was a _click_, then the dial tone sounded. Justin sighed at the familiar response.

With a frustrated growl, he slammed the receiver of the lair's phone down on its base. There'd been a constant shortage of monster hunters after Max released all of those monsters, so all of the experienced hunters were busy. And not one of the inexperienced hunters wanted to go up against a super-powerful, millenia-old vampire coven. Even Just was starting to get nervous at the idea of protecting the Duncans all by himself.

Hopefully he wouldn't have to, though. He still had more resources to check out. And one of them was in the Sub Station kitchen.

"Dad!" Justin exclaimed as he ran into the kitchen, then closed the freezer door behind him. Both Jerry and Theresa were there making sandwiches for the lunch rush, while Max took orders in the dining room. At his parents' concerned glances, Justin explained, "None of the monster hunters will fight the van Heusens. Dad, you have to get some wizards to help me out! I can't do this on my own!"

"Then don't!" Theresa blurted. She'd been filled in on the situation over the last couple of days. "Tell the family to leave town, go into hiding, something! My baby is _not _going to be torn apart by a bunch of vampires!"

While he actually had similar fears, Justin couldn't help but retort, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mom." He added, "And I already tried that. Teddy won't listen."

Jerry shook his head. "I'm sorry about the monster hunters, son. I'll call around and see who's willing to help, but I have to warn you, no one will want to get involved with the van Heusen coven."

"So I've noticed." Justin sighed. "I just don't know what else to do."

The three paused for a minute while they tried to think of another option. Finally, Jerry's eyes widened. "I've got it! Bring the Duncans here!"

"What? That's ridiculous! Justin already said they won't listen to him," Theresa pointed out.

"Yeah," Justin agreed. "I doubt anything I say will get them to fly all the way here and live with us until I get some back up. What excuse could we possibly give them?"

There was a long moment of tense silence, then Jerry suggested gravely, "Then tell them the truth." At his family's shocked expressions, he said, "Look, the Duncans would find out about magic anyway when a coven of vampires attacks them, right?"

Even though the idea was outrageous, Justin realized his father was right. Getting the Duncans to cooperate would be much easier if they knew they were in danger. Then, he could magically transport them somewhere they'd be safe. At least he wouldn't have to worry about protecting them while facing off against vampires. Because despite his mother's fears, he _would_need to battle the van Heusens as soon as possible. The Duncans wouldn't be able to stay in hiding forever.

Actually, this could work. Hopefully he'd get some back up, or some experienced monster hunters would become available, and the wizards could launch a surprise attack when the van Heusens arrived at the Duncan house.

He proceeded to explain that plan to his parents. While Jerry was all for it, Theresa needed some convincing. "Look, Mom, I know it's a lot to take in strangers," Justin said. "Especially since I'm not sure how many siblings Teddy has. But their lives are in danger! I guess they could stay at Wiztech if it came to that, but I'm sure the Duncans would be more comfortable staying in the mortal world."

"He's right, Theresa," Jerry added. "And this way it would be easier for us to protect the Duncans. Vampires are smart. If they found out that Teddy was at Wiztech, they could easily lure her away. And Wiztech would be their first guess. They might track her to the Sub Station, but it's a good hiding place since they probably won't connect her to Justin." Jerry paused. "Unless she's already told them that she messaged Justin, in which case Waverly Place would be their first guess instead."

Though she seemed like she was about to cave, Theresa still argued, "How do we know for sure that this family is in trouble? You just got a message saying she's going to meet up with them. You don't even know if she contacted the right van Heusens."

"Juliet's parents are the only van Heusens on Facebook," Justin informed her. "And one of the experienced monster hunters I talked to said the van Heusens are definitely on the move again. The hunter is on another case right now, but he heard from a contact that the van Heusens found Juliet's ancestors and plan to turn the mortals into vampires as soon as they get to America." He swallowed. The next bit of information he'd learned was particularly horrible. "And...and they plan to replace Teddy's soul with Juliet's."

Jerry's jaw dropped slightly. "Oh my gosh...you mean...okay, no matter what, you have to get Teddy here and not let her out of your sight!"

"Wait, Jerry, what are you talking about?" Theresa asked, her brow wrinkled in confusion. "'Replace'? What does it mean to replace a soul?"

Since he didn't want to spell it out, Jerry uneasily explained, "Well, a body can only be inhabited by one soul at a time. And the van Heusens want Juliet's soul to inhabit Teddy's. Permanently."

"So what happens to Teddy...oh! Oh, oh my goodness, that's...that's..." Theresa sputtered once she understood the concept. Too terrified to speak, she just nodded. "T-the..." she choked out. "The Duncans can stay here."

Justin sighed with relief. This whole situation became much easier now that he didn't have to bother with calling Professor Crumbs to set up room and board for however long the Duncans would need it. Besides, he'd already called the professor for back up. The well-connected wizard said he would call around for help, and Justin didn't want to interrupt him. "Thanks Mom and Dad," Justin said as he went into the dining room. "I'll go figure out how to tell Teddy now."

"Good luck," Jerry called after him, but Justin barely heard it. Alex was stomping down the stairs, a mixture of troubling emotions on her face.

Though Justin needed to contact Teddy, he paused to ask, "What's with..."

"Mason's waiting out front," Alex snapped, then stormed out to Waverly Place.

Max was standing nearby, so Justin asked, "What was that about?"

"I...don't really care, actually," Max replied. Then he handed his order pad out to his brother. "Your turn to take over Alex's shift."

While he felt bad for leaving overwhelmed Max, Justin just couldn't spare the time. "I'm sorry man, I have to go." Then before poor Max could object, he ran upstairs.

* * *

After dinner that night, Alex wanted nothing more than to hole up in her room and avoid everyone, especially Harper. Unaware of the fight, Alex's parents made her have dinner at home since it had been over a week since she ate with the whole family. The resulting tension between Alex and Harper was so unbearably awful that everyone finished their enchiladas in about five minutes, and then bolted from the room. Only her mother remained to clean up the dishes.

On her way upstairs, Alex paused to look out at the upsetting scene on the terrace. Zeke, who'd eaten over, had his telescope set up, and an ultra-powerful camera in his hand. He'd been there for the past two nights, because he wasn't allowed to spend the night on the roof of his own building. Besides, he wanted to stay at the Russos since that's where the constellation had been seen so clearly. At first he'd wanted to go on the Russo's roof, but her parents had worried they'd forgot to make him go home.

He was out there alone, because Justin needed to straighten out some vampire crisis, and Harper was angry with Zeke too for ignoring her. Alex was still plenty furious with Harper, yet...as someone in love, she hated to see another couple fight. Hopeless romanticism was her one major weakness.

So reluctantly she went out to the terrace. "Hey Zeke, you know, Harper's mad at you."

Much to her confusion, he appeared to not hear her and kept his eyes on the sky. Alex rolled her own eyes, then loudly clapped her hands. Zeke whirled to face her. "Oh, hey Alex. Did you see that amazing paintbrush constellation the other night?"

"Yeah, fascinating," Alex deadpanned. Then she repeated, "Hey, Harper's _mad at you_."

Zeke turned back to the telescope. "Why? I haven't done anything. Is it because I didn't hear her right away at dinner when she asked me to pass her the enchilada sauce?"

Aggravated, Alex snapped, "No, she doesn't care about the stupid enchilada sauce! She cares that ever since that constellation appeared, you haven't stopped talking about it!" At his bewildered expression, she explained slowly, "_You've been ignoring your girlfriend_. And I've been busy with Mason, so you can't be doing this right now!"

"Oh," Zeke said in understanding. Then once again he returned to the telescope. "I'll tell Harper I'm sorry, but this is important to me. If I could get this recognized by astrologists, maybe they'd name it after me - 'Beekerman's Brush.' Has a ring to it, right? That would be the most amazing thing _ever_." He sighed and gave Alex an apologetic glance. "Harper's my girlfriend. She should be out here supporting me, right?"

The reasoning made Alex realize that if she disagreed, she'd be incredibly hypocritical. That didn't bother her as much as the realization that she actually _agreed_ith him a little. Unable to come up with a retort, she just muttered, "Shoot!" Then went back inside.

And while Zeke did have a right to feel that way, she couldn't totally blame Harper either. First, Harper knew that Zeke was wasting his time, so she was probably trying to discourage him. Second, Alex had to admit she wouldn't sit outside and be bored out of her mind while her boyfriend completely ignored her.

Before she could go up to her room, Justin rushed in, Jerry right behind him. "My contact got back to me, and it's pretty bad," Justin announced to Theresa, who'd looked at him with concern. "Some of the van Heusens' coven lives in the States and could easily reach the Duncans by morning. Depending on where they are, they could already be close to the house since it's been dark for about a half hour."

"Oh my goodness, Justin! You have to go save them now!" Theresa exclaimed.

"That's the plan," Jerry said, then looked to his daughter. "You should go with your brother."

Her arms crossed, Alex protested, "What, why? I barely know what's going on!"

"What do you mean? We filled everyone in earlier," Justin reminded her.

Alex shrugged. "Yeah, I didn't pay any attention to that."

"I'm not surprised," Jerry remarked. "Look, just go. You're good at straightening out tough situations. Granted, you're usually the cause of them, but I think you'll be able to help here too."

While the idea of helping others for no reason didn't especially appeal to Alex, she decided to go along with it. Mason was busy getting ready for the full moon anyway. "Got nothing better to do, so sure," she said as she pulled out her wand from her boot.

"Whoa, hold on! We can't just _appear_ in the Duncan house!" Justin protested. "They'd be traumatized! We need to wait a minute and think of a calm, gentle approach."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Justin, the family is about to be kidnapped by vampires." A spell already in mind, she held up her wand. "'Calm' is not the way to go."

* * *

Teddy couldn't believe it. The project that had eaten up most of her summer vacation was finally done.

Well, part of it was at least. She wouldn't be able to finish the essay until she talked with Alucard and Cindy some more when they were in town. But the other part, a full timeline for each of her parent's family history presented on a piece of oak tag, was ready to go.

Too proud of herself to just sit on the living room couch and admire what she'd accomplished on her own, she yelled to the kitchen, "Mom, Dad! Come look at my project!" She'd eaten quickly so she could get back to her work, but her family was still clearing the table.

A couple minutes later, Bob, Amy and PJ entered, along with Charlie in her mother's arms. "Is it finally done?" Amy asked as she sat next to Teddy on the couch, the baby on her lap.

"The timeline is! Look, we're Transylvanian!" Teddy said. She pointed to the top of the poster since she'd started from the earliest ancestor, then put her generation at the bottom.

"Transylvanian? Cool!" PJ remarked from his seat on the arm of the club chair, while Bob sat on the chair's cushion. "Are we vampires?"

Teddy gave him an exasperated glare for the ridiculous suggestion. "Didn't I only call for Mom and Dad?"

Offended, he retorted, "I was just _kidding_! Seriously, I'm very curious about where I came from."

"So are we," Bob and Amy teased in unison.

PJ crossed his arms. "This family is cruel."

"_Anyway_," Teddy continued. "I started with what I already knew, that Mom's grandmother immigrated from - "

Before Teddy could explain further, Amy interrupted, "Wait, Teddy, Gabe should hear our family's history too." Then she called, "Gabe, get in here and see Teddy's project!"

Surprisingly, Gabe rushed into the living room as if his mother had just said the family was going for ice cream. At Teddy's raised eyebrow, he explained, "Hey, if it's not reading that book, I'm in."

Teddy nodded in understanding. "Right. Like I was saying, Mom's family was easy since Great-grandma Kathleen immigrated from Ireland. Dad's family gave me a headache."

"Because it's what they do best," Bob said apologetically. "Did cousin Marty try to sell you car insurance?"

"Yup, even when I said I don't own a car," Teddy confirmed.

Bob grimaced. "Yeah, sorry about him. And everyone else you had to call. See, now you know why we spend every single holiday with your mother's family."

"Yeah. By the way, thank you for that," Teddy replied. Then she went back to her presentation. "So I talked to the van Heusens some more today. They confirmed that the original Juliet van Heusen, Dad's earliest known ancestor, definitely immigrated here from Transylvania in the 1690's, where she fell in love with a local in one of England's thirteen colonies, New York."

PJ's eyes widened. "Even more awesome! Not only are we vampires, we're New Yorkers!"

"Stop it, PJ! We're not vampires!" Amy chided.

Disappointed, Gabe said, "Okay, so not ever Transylvanian is a vampire, but we _could_ be!"

"No we couldn't, because vampires don't exist!" annoyed Bob reminded the boys.

"Thank you Dad, the voice of reason," Teddy spoke up. _This_ had been why she would've rather just had her parents look at her project instead of her whole, irritating family. "So, Juliet's son moved to Louisiana. A few generations later, his ancestors moved to neighboring Georgia, here they stayed for another few generations."

Fascinated, Amy glanced at Bob. "And you never knew anything about your ancestry?"

"Well, I've always heard stories," Bob remembered. "But they were always the kind where, like, a great-uncle got arrested during Prohibition. No one really cared that much."

Teddy laughed. "Now, if anyone _does_ care, it's all here. Actually I was thinking of sending my report to all of our relatives in case they - "

A bright flash of purple light and smoke suddenly exploded in the area between the door and the couch. When the light faded, two teenagers were there - a girl with a strange red stick in her hand, and a boy who had a serious, nervous expression on his face. Based on their similar facial features, Teddy guessed they were brother and sister.

The teens coughed as they waved their hands to make the smoke clear faster. "Alex, what were you thinking?" the boy snapped.

"I was _thinking_ I wanted to make an entrance! Is that so wrong?" Alex retorted as she slid the stick into her boot.

"Hello, second-hand smoke?" her brother pointed out while he glanced at the Duncans. "And there's a baby in the room! Even better!"

"Okay, okay, sorry!" Alex muttered. Her eyes wided when she noticed Teddy. "Whoa! You never told me Juliet had a twin!"

Her older brother gave her an exasperated glare. "They're not twins, she's Juliet's ancestor. Which you would know if you _paid attention_ when I told you things!"

_Oh yeah, definitely brother and sister_, Teddy thought. then she was even more shocked when she realized she _knew_ one of the visitors. "Oh my gosh...Justin! What are you doing here?"

"And..._how_are you here?" PJ added while the rest of the family was shocked speechless. "And whatever it is, can I try?"

"Not unless you're a wizard," Alex said with a chuckle.

"What Alex means is...okay, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just tell you," Justin said, clearly unnerved. Then he tok a deep breath. "Alucard and Cindy van Heusen are powerful vampires. Their daughter Juliet is too...and your ancestor. Since mortal ancenstor of vampires - that's you - make powerful vampires, Alucard, Cindy and their coven are on their way here to...uh, well..."

"Turn you all into undead bloodsuckers," Alex finished cheerfully.

The second wave of shock rendered the Duncans speechless once again. Finally, Teddy remarked in an overwhelmed daze, "Huh, what do you know. Dad was wrong - vampires _do _exist."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The room was silent for what seemed like an hour while the Duncans processed what Justin and Alex had just told them. Nervous energy made Teddy pace back and forth in a small circle. "Okay, so, wait...you're wizards, here to protect us from vampires, who want to turn us _into _vampires. This isn't happening!"

"Cool!" Gabe exclaimed. "I want to be a vampire! That sounds awesome!"

PJ nodded and gave his brother a high-five. "Immortality and rock hard abs, I'm in!" At everyone else's bewildered glances, he explained, "Well, all movie vampires are really fit. I figured it just automatically came with being undead."

"You know, I was actually wondering that too," Justin said. "I've seen pictures of Juliet's ex-boyfriends. Seriously, one after another after another, each and every one of them - "

"Really, Justin? You're doing this now?" Alex asked in disbelief, an eyebrow raised.

Finally, Amy stood up, passing Charlie to still-shocked Teddy as she did so. "Everybody, quiet!" she yelled. Even Justin and Alex immediately shut up and gave her their undivided attention. "PJ, Gabe, sorry to disappoint you, but no one in this family is turning into a vampire, because vampires aren't real!" She then the two "wizards" a disapproving glare. "Neither are wizards! What are you two, amateur magicians? I've seen better special effects at a kiddie party for one of Gabe's friends!"

While Alex was offended, Gabe reluctantly nodded in agreement. "It's true. Tommy's eighth birthday party had a magician who played Vegas."

Justin rolled his eyes at his sister. "See, this is why I should've done the spell!"

"Sure, I try for a little dramatic flair, and this what I get," Alex grumbled.

Though he was still bewildered, Bob also stood up. "Hold on, is this some kind of prank?" He then smiled at the idea. "Are we on TV right now?"

Justin frowned. "No, Mr. Duncan. Powerful vampires are already on their way here. Alex and I are here to take you all to safety."

To be honest, Teddy wasn't sure she believed them either. While it would be amazing if magic actually existed, she didn't want her family to be in danger, especially because of her. "Prove it," she demanded. "Prove that everything you're telling us is true."

"Ugh, Justin, we don't have time for this," Alex said, impatience in her voice. "It's been dark for what, an hour? Vampires could be - "

Before she could finish her sentence, a pale, muscular man crashed through the front window, snarling with rage as he landed on the living room floor. While Teddy screamed and jumped back, Alex grinned triumphantly. "Man, did I call that or what?"

"Freeze!" Justin shouted as he pointed his wand at the intruder, who Teddy was stunned to see really did have a frightening set of vampire fangs. At Justin's command, a bright spark of blue light flew from the tip of his wand and hit the creature square in the chest. The vampire instantly froze in place, then little icicles started to form on its skin as it began to turn ice blue. As each Duncan stared, their eyes wide with fear of the vampire, Justin paused. "_Okay_. Didn't mean that literally, but sure, this works."

After also staring at the vampire, Alex whirled to face her brother. "'Freeze'? What kind of spell was that?"

"One that worked, apparently," Justin retorted. But he added, "I didn't bother with a spell, because wizard spells aren't very effective against vampires. Use a lot of it, and some sixth sense in vampires repels it right back. But if you catch them off-guard with a small, passionate burst of magic, sometimes you get lucky."

Bored by the lecture, Alex replied, "Whatever. Let's get out of here before the vampire-sicle melts."

"Right," Justin agreed. As if remembering the others were there, he glanced at the Duncans. "Are we good?"

Numb from raw shock, and scared out of their wits by that vampire, the Duncans just nodded. Teddy was convinced. She'd heard the window shatter, felt some of the glass hit her boot, heard the vampire snarl before the air became about fifty degrees colder when the ice inexplicably formed. No TV prank show could do that. Besides, strong instincts told her to trust the wizards. From the scared looks on her family's faces, even her parents', she could tell they all thought the same.

Justin waved his wand again. _"So we can disappear without a trace, take us back to Waverly Place_."

There was a huge flash of golden light that blinded increasingly frightened Teddy. In that second, she couldn't remember feeling more afraid. Not only because she had no idea what "Waverly Place" was, but also because her whole world had been changed in minutes. All because she'd sent those emails to the van Heusens.

Now, logically thinking, she knew she did nothing wrong. She'd just reached out to relatives for help with a school project. How could she have possibly known that one email would cause evil vampires to target her family? And while they hadn't gotten a chance to talk about it yet, she knew her parents would never blame her.

But she knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself from doing so. The guilt was already intense, to the point where she wanted to hide under a rock until the whole ordeal was over. Nothing she ever did, no amount of "I'm sorry"s, would make the guilt go away. Tears were threatening to fall when the world started to take shape again, but she managed to hold them back. She didn't want to break down in front of strangers.

To keep her mind off her upsetting thoughts, she took in her new surroundings. She, her family, Alex and Justin were standing in the living area of a spacious loft. To her right was a kitchen, in front a dining room, and to the left of that were metal spiral stairs. Bright orange was the most prominent in the room's color scheme, but Teddy was drawn to the view outside the terrace doors. Though Teddy couldn't see much in the dark and from so far away, but she could see lights that revealed tall buildings. She was definitely in a big city, which made Teddy even more anxious than she had been.

"Where are we?" Amy asked nervously. She still held on to Charly, but one protective hand was on her youngest son's shoulder. Both the ten-year-old boy and one-year-old baby just seemed confused, yet also excited, more than anything else.

As he tucked his wand in the back pocket of his jeans, Justin explained, "Manhattan, New York. Our family lives here, and runs the sandwich shop downstairs."

"You run a sandwich shop? Awesome, unlimited cold cuts!" PJ remarked. At his family's raised eyebrows, he said, "What? Just being positive."

Before anyone could respond, Teddy saw a younger teenage boy wander in from the side hallway. The large group of strangers in his living room didn't even make him blink. "What's up?" he asked who must have been his older brother and sister casually.

"Hey Max, these are the Duncans. They'll be staying with us for a while until Justin slays the vampires after them," Alex easily explained. Then she added as an afterthought, "One of Teddy's brothers will probably have to stay in your room." She then turned to the Duncans. "This is our little brother Max. My best friend Harper also lives with us, her room is in the basement."

"Okay," Max simply replied, then wrinkled his brow in confusion. "Teddy? Am I going to be sharing my room with a teddy bear?"

Teddy laughed before she realized he was being serious. "No, uh, my name is Teddy," she introduced, then pointed to her respective siblings. "These are my brothers PJ and Gabe, and that's my little sister Charlie."

"Charlie's a girl? And your name is Teddy?" Max shook his head as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and went back to his room. "You people are weird."

When he left, the others could only dismiss his odd behavior. "That was probably the most messed up conversation I've ever had," Teddy said.

"That's Max for you," Alex replied.

"In that case, I'm very glad he won't be my roommate." She smiled at her brothers, who looked like they wanted to spend their life savings on a nearby hotel room. "Have fun with that."

* * *

The next couple of hours were pure chaos. Justin and his family did their best to fit another six people in their already full loft. Poor Harper had to give up her room so Amy, Bob and the baby could sleep in her bed. Harper was a good sport about it though, and said she'd been wanting to try sleeping out on the terrace because she'd heard somewhere that extensive exposure to night air was good for a person's health.

Speaking of the terrace, Justin was relieved when he found out that his parents quickly sent Zeke home as soon as Alex and Justin left to get the Duncans. From what Justin heard, Zeke had been pretty upset about that. Justin would have to come up with an excuse for his parents' behavior and apologize to Zeke later. Granted, Zeke shouldn't be so obsessed with a non-existent constellation, but the Russo parents did say he could stargaze.

Anyway, because of their similar age groups, Gabe had been stuck in Max's room while PJ bunked with Justin. At first Justin thought there might be a problem since he usually made his bed disappear during the day so he had more space to study or do research. Then it occurred to him that he could easily make two beds appear, so that was why there was currently a bunk bed in his crowded room. Alex, always eager to use magic, had made two twin beds appear instead. While she did have the room for it, she also did it because she refused to sleep in a bunk bed, or trip over an air mattress.

At the moment, PJ was settling in. After popping into the Duncan home first to make sure the vampire had thawed and escaped, Justin then brought the Duncans back so they could pack a bag with enough clothes for at least several days. While Justin estimated it would take about a week for the van Heusens to reach America, the vampires could easily get there sooner, especially since they were probably in a hurry.

"So, uh, need anything?" Justin asked awkwardly, not used to playing host.

"No, I'm okay," PJ answered. "Thanks though. Hey, do you mind if I take the bottom bunk? I usually don't even know I'm awake when I first get up in the morning, so I really doubt I'll remember that ladder's there."

Justin laughed. "Sure, no problem. I don't think I'll be getting much sleep anyway."

The lighthearted remark made PJ pause, concern in his expression. "Oh, right. Dude, is there anything I can do to help? Kind of got the impression that you're doing this - protecting us - all by yourself."

"I am, but it's fine. I'm sure I'll get some back up soon." _I hope_, Justin thought.

"Oh. Well, thanks. For you know, saving us from blood-thirsty vampires," PJ replied. After a second's hesitation, he asked, "Uh, can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer if you want."

Curious of what the question could possibly be when they just met, Justin shrugged. "Okay."

Another long pause later, PJ anxiously said, "Before, when you and your dad were explaining to us more of what's going on..." He was referring to when the Duncans first arrived, after introductions were made. Justin and Jerry gave the overwhelmed Duncans a whirlwind lesson about the magical world, and why vampires were after them. "You mentioned that Juliet _was_ your girlfriend." He then blurted, "What _happened_?"

Even though he wanted to reply with a sarcastic retort, Justin let out a deep breath. He couldn't blame PJ for wanting to know when Justin had been purposefully vague about it. "Right, well...it's a long story," he began. "But she was scratched by a werewolf. When that happens to a vampire, it drains their powers...including immortality."

The implication didn't immediately click, but a second later PJ's eyes widened. "_Oh_. Wow, I'm sorry about that, man."

"Thanks," Just replied, his voice tense. Suddenly he was very uncomfortable. "Look, uh, I'm going to check on everyone." Remembering it was only ten 'o clock or so, he added, "You're welcome to hang out downstairs when you're done."

After checking on the girls, who didn't need anything either, he went downstairs to make himself a cup of tea. He'd been stressed all day long, and his favorite hot beverage was the only way he'd get any sleep that night. He wanted to enjoy it alone, but when he got downstairs, his parents and the Duncan parents were in the kitchen chatting over coffee. The baby, Charlie if memory served him right, was sleeping on the couch, carefully surrounded by pillows and watched by her mother.

When Theresa saw her weary son trudge down the stairs, she went over and gave him a comforting hug. "How are you holding up, mijo? Do you want me to make you some tea?"

Normally, Justin enjoyed the process of making the tea almost as much as drinking it. But since he had no desire to make small talk with the Duncans, the offer was welcome. "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Mom. Is it okay if I wait out on the terrace?" Harper was upstairs with Alex and Teddy, so he would have a few extra minutes of solitude. "I'll come in for it when it's ready."

"Honey, you've had a long, hard day. I'll bring it out to you," Theresa assured him.

Justin thanked his mother again, then went out to the terrace and lied down on one of the lounge chairs. Even though he never thought the outdoor cushions were especially comfortable, he felt every muscle in his body start to unclench. Knowing that he would soon have a steaming mug of tea helped him relax even more.

"Much better," he said to himself with a content sigh. All he had to do was push all thoughts of evil vampires out of his mind, then maybe he might be able to get some badly needed sleep.

* * *

As she watched her son go out to the terrace, undoubtedly for some peace and quiet, Theresa felt her heart break a little, like it did whenever one of her children was going through a rough time. Of course, she'd known for a while that Justin had been under constant stress anyway because of his Juliet research, but seeing him drag himself down the stairs like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders actually made her want to cry on the spot. The only reason she didn't was because her guests were watching. "Poor mijo," she whispered instead.

Sympathy on her face, Amy said, "I know, he looks so tired." Then she asked, "What's 'mijo'?"

"It's a Spanish term, means 'my son,'" Theresa explained. She turned to her husband. "Jerry, there has to be something we can do. I know none of us have powers, but I can't just stand by while my son tries to slay vampires all by himself."

Bob nodded in agreement. "If you do have a plan, count me in. Granted, I'm still in shock a little bit, but my family is in danger too."

"No way," Jerry snapped, at both his wife and Bob. At the others' surprised expressions, he explained, "Look, I know where you're all coming rom, I get it. And if there's anything you _can_ do, I'll let you know. But it's too dangerous for anyone who doesn't know exactly what to expect when facing off with powerful vampires. That's why _I'm_ going with Justin, and up until whenever the battle is, I've decided I'll coach Alex and Max so they can fight too. Magic won't actually slay the vampires, but it's effective if used correctly."

_Is he serious?_Theresa thought with angry disbelief. "So, let me get this straight," she began harshly. "I love my kids, but you actually expect Alex and Max to learn Vampire Fighting 101 before the van Heusens get here in _less than a week_? Have you _met_ our kids? They barely show up to magic lessons as it is! And what are _you_ going to be doing in this battle, huh? You don't have powers either!" She threw up her hands and began to pace the small area on the side of the kitchen. "See, stuff like _this_ is why I hate magic! Nothing good comes from it, _nothing_!"

Meanwhile, Amy and Bob traded stunned glances. "Wow," Amy remarked. "Our fights are usually about whose turn it was to pick up Gabe from his Student Council meeting."

Suddenly embarrassed, Theresa realized she'd yelled at her husband in front of company. Sure enough, Jerry looked pretty upset with her at the moment. To regain control of her fury, she lt out a _very_ deep breath and began to make Justin his tea. "I'm sorry," she muttered to the whole group. "Just lost my temper."

"Don't worry about it, we're all a little on edge right now," Bob replied, then turned to Jerry. "Though she does have a point. About you not having powers, I mean. I don't know what your kids are like."

"Well, since magic isn't really a major weapon anyway, I won't be at that much of a disadvantage," Jerry explained. "And I have an emergency silver dagger in the lair."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Silver dagger? I thought you were supposed to use _wooden stakes _for vampires, and silver _bullets_ for werewolves."

"That's true about werewolves, but wooden stakes are just a myth," Jerry replied with an amused shake of his head. "I mean, think about it. Vampires are so strong, all a wooden stake would do is give you splinters. Silver is the only metal that can injure monsters."

Intrigued, Bob said, "Wow, you really know your stuff. Why don't you have powers again? I think Amy and I were bringing our bags downstairs during that part of the whole magic discussion."

As she finished making her son's tea, Theresa couldn't help but smile. Even after all these years, Jerry's huge sacrifice still amazed her. It was why she was able to break ties with her own family. "Well," she began while she turned back to the group. "You heard the part about the wizard competition, right?" When Bob and Amy nodded, she continued, "Jerry won, but because wizards aren't allowed to marry mortals, he gave up his powers for me."

"To this day, I sometimes question that decision," Jerry teased.

Though her natural reaction was to glare, Theresa resisted since she'd just yelled at him. "Okay, I deserved that. But next time, you pay."

"Oh my gosh, that's so romantic!" Amy exclaimed. Then she playfully smacked her husband's arm. "You've never done _anything_ like that for me."

"Hey, if I had powers, I would've done the same. But I can't give up what I don't have, right?" Bob argued, then glared at Jerry. "Thanks for that," he said sarcastically.

Jerry chuckled. "Hey, you're the one who asked."

They all laughed, then Theresa excused herself to bring Justin his tea. Her exhausted son was already passed out on the lounge chair. "Hi, sweetie. Don't mind me, I'll just put your tea on the table."

"Thanks, Mom," Justin muttered as he tried to open his eyes. His voice sounded weak.

Her heart breaking again, Theresa brushed aside a piece of his hair out of his eyes before she left. "Go back to sleep, mijo," she whispered, then sadly shook her head, again wishing she could do more to help her son.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Though Alex didn't love the idea of sharing her room, she welcomed the distraction from her fight with Harper. Of course, Harper was in her room at the moment, but only to help Teddy unpack and settle in. Honestly, Alex was all for that if it meant the two became friends. That way, maybe Harper would forget her anger at neglectful Alex.

Besides, peppy and slightly goofy Teddy was better suited to be Harper's friend anyway. True, Teddy was upset at the moment because of the situation, but even then she managed an upbeat, perky attitude. From where she lied on her bed flipping through a magazine, Alex watched with a raised eyebrow as Teddy put a video camera on the nightstand that Alex had conjured up along with the twin-sized bed. "What's that for?" she asked while Teddy went to organize the clothes in her suit case. After Teddy looked up in curiosity, Alex nodded to the video camera. "Hoping to catch some vampire butt-kicking action on video? 'Cause I have to say, with Justin you'll more likely get footage of a teenage boy screaming like a little girl."

Teddy laughed. "No. I, uh, make a video diary for Charlie. That way in the future, if she needs me and I'm not around, she'll still be able to get some sisterly advice." She paused. "Not sure if I should include this little adventure, though. Grown-up Charlie might think her whole family is nuts."

"You never know. At this rate, little Charlie might grow up to become Charlie the vampire slayer," Alex said with a chuckle, then tilted her head. "Why does that sound so familiar?" She shrugged. "Eh, well."

"Anyway, I think that's really sweet. It's kind of like scrap booking with a modern twist," Harper said, interested in the concept.

Teddy considered the comparison. "I guess so. Except that scrap booking is totally…" She realized Harper hadn't been teasing just in time. "Awesome. Totally awesome."

"Really?" Harper exclaimed, her eyes lit up. "Because I have _tons _of scrapbooks in my room! I found this _amazing_ fabric the other day that I'm going to use for the one I want to start next. Let me go get the one I recently made for my boyfriend's party. The actual used napkins give it a real authentic touch." Before the other two could say a word, she ran into the hallway.

With a sigh, Alex remarked, "Nice save, but I think it worked a little _too_ well."

"I know. The curse of being a good liar," Teddy joked. Then she had to ask, "_She_ has a boyfriend? Really?" The reference was both to Harper's hyper personality, the scrap booking…_and _the dress she was wearing, made entirely of recycled plastic grocery bags. When Alex nodded, she shook her head. "Huh. I guess there really _is _someone out there for everybody."

"I've always believed that," Alex said as she chuckled in response to Teddy's comment. Between that and the lying, maybe Teddy wasn't the goody-goody Alex had originally thought. "Wait, so, you're a good liar? Me too! Isn't it great?"

Though Teddy was a little surprised, she replied sheepishly, "Well, not _all_ the time. But once, I spent the _whole_ day hanging out with my mom, telling her she was cool so I could go to the midnight premiere of a movie." Teddy sighed. "Everything went according to plan…until she found out and humiliated me in public. But if I hadn't butt-dialed her, it totally would've worked."

"Spending time with a parent to get what you want…" Alex said while she thought over the new concept. "Nah, too much effort. Great that it almost worked for you though."

"Yup. Hey, do you think Harper will be back soon? I kind of want to get to bed," Teddy said as she took a pair of pajamas out of her suitcase.

Alex glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. "But it's only 10:30. I was hoping we could, you know, hang out, talk about our boyfriends…" Teddy had gotten a call from Spencer earlier in the evening. "I wish we could call mine, but he's probably prowling around the woods, chasing after a deer by now."

Not sure she heard right, Teddy stared. "I'm sorry…what?"

"Oh, he's a werewolf, and the full moon starts tonight," Alex explained.

Teddy's jaw dropped. "Huh, and I'm annoyed when Spencer doesn't get a chance to shave in the morning." She shook her head. "But yeah, I'm tired. It's been a very long…weird, day."

"Oh, right," Alex said with a frown. She'd almost forgotten earlier, when she'd noticed how worn-out Teddy seemed. That weariness was starting to show through again. "Yeah. Guess I didn't realize how weird this must be. For you, I mean. This kind of stuff happens around here all the time."

"It's not so much that as…never mind. I think I'm just going to get changed. Where's your bathroom?" Teddy asked while she quickly headed for the door.

Alex sighed when it suddenly dawned on her why Teddy would be more troubled than anyone else. Teddy had been the one to contact the van Heusens. "It's not your fault," Alex said, which made Teddy pause. "Trust me, enough bad things have been my fault, so I would know. But this? You just wanted to get an A on your project."

Surprised, Teddy was quiet for a moment. Then she let out a long, sad sigh. "I know. But that won't make the guilt go away."

As Teddy left, Alex called after her, "Blame someone else! That always works for me!"

* * *

_This stinks. Literally._

The second Gabe walked into his temporary room, he almost gagged. The smell was just so…_bad_, he couldn't even describe it. He and his family had driven by their town's dump a few times in the past, which had been a pretty awful smell too. But at that moment, Gabe would have rather spent the night there.

Max's room was messier than a dump, too. Sure, Gabe's room was far from spotless, and a good mess didn't usually bother him. But there was actual _garbage_ piled high on every available surface, except for Max's bed (and even that wasn't ideal). Which meant the lower bunk supposed to be Gabe's bed was a trash heap too.

"Okay, here's a stupid question," Gabe said as he stood in the doorway, his duffel bag over his shoulder. Max was feeding a fish in a small bowl on the dresser. "Um, where am I supposed to sleep?"

Without even looking up from the fish, Max casually pointed at the lower bunk. "The bottom one. The top one's mine."

Gabe rolled his eyes. "Duh. Look, I'm no neat freak, but even I don't want to sleep on a pile of garbage."

"So sleep somewhere that's clean," Max suggested, not a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

_Seriously?_ Gabe thought. He could feel despair and frustration returning, the result of everything that happened in the past few hours, and then this. Every ounce of willpower he had went into not losing his cool. "There's garbage _everywhere_."

"Okay, okay," Max retorted, as if Gabe's request had been unreasonable. After he put down the container of fish food, he went over to the bed. Then, with one huge sweep of his arm across it, he dumped most of the dirty clothes and garbage on the floor. "There," he said. He grabbed a crushed soda can left on the bed. "Hey, been looking for that."

"_Why?_" Gabe wondered aloud.

Though the question had been mostly rhetorical, Max answered, "For my crushed soda can collection," he explained as he put the can on a shelf, next to about a dozen others.

"You _collect_…you know what, never mind," Gabe said. He still held his duffel bag over his shoulder, too disgusted to put it down. Even with Max's cleaning attempt, the stained and crumb-filled bed was still gross. "Wait, you're a wizard, aren't you? Isn't there some cleaning spell you could use?"

Max tilted his head. "Cleaning spell? There's a good idea. Give me a second to come up with something."

Amazed that the concept had never occurred to Max before, Gabe kept his mouth shut to let his roommate think. Especially since Gabe suspected that Max didn't do so very often. True, Gabe tried to get out of schoolwork whenever possible, but that was only due to laziness. Beating video games took _a lot_ of brainpower.

"I got it!" Max exclaimed as he snapped his fingers. He took out his wand and pointed it at what would be Gabe's bed.

His stomach suddenly overcome with a sinking feeling, Gabe held up his hands. "Wait! Run it by me first."

"Hey, who's the wizard here? I think I know what I'm doing," Max insisted.

Gabe's stomach did another somersault. "You do, huh?"

"Yeah, this'll totally work," Max said, then aimed his wand again. "_So Gabe has a place to stay, make this mess go away._"

There was a blinding flash of white light, then…nothing. Actually _nothing_. Max's room had completely vanished, as in, the two boys were surrounded by a white background.

Gabe's eyes widened in shock. "I feel…like a cartoon."

Confused, Max just looked around. "Why does this seem so familiar?"

While Max figured out what went wrong, Gabe headed for the door, which fortunately hadn't disappeared with everything else. In that moment, he was very glad he never put his bag down on the now-vanished floor.

Tired and upset, Gabe stomped into the common area, where both sets of parents were talking in the kitchen. They all immediately quieted and looked at him with concern. "Honey, what is it? Do you and Max not get along?" Amy asked as she went over to give him a hug.

"Sort of.." Gabe replied while he tightly held on to his mother, tears threatening. "I can't sleep in there."

"Is it the smell? Because you get used to it after a few minutes," Theresa assured him.

Gabe shook his head. "No, I mean, I really _can't_ sleep in there. Because 'there,' well…_isn't_."

The implication slowly dawning on him, Jerry asked, "What did Max do?"

"Well, the extra bed was really nasty, so I told him he should use a cleaning spell, and…"

"Say no more, we're on it," Jerry interrupted. Then he and worried Theresa bolted into the side hallway.

"Okay then…" Bob turned to Gabe, his brow wrinkled. "Are you all right, son?"

Close to tears, Gabe just shook his head. Even though he'd thought movie and video game vampires were cool, seeing that real one burst through the window had frightened him. He was scared, in a strange place, and had no idea what was going on. "Mom, Dad…I want to go home," he blurted, then buried his face in his mother's shoulder.

* * *

Justin usually liked waking up early. It made him feel more productive to set his alarm to seven or eight, rather than sleep through the morning like his siblings did. And he always had more energy throughout the day.

But when his alarm beeped at seven a.m. the morning after his household had more than doubled in size, Justin barely heard it through his deep sleep. "Ugh…" he moaned, hoping he was hearing his parents' alarm instead, and it would turn off within seconds.

"What psycho sets his alarm for seven a.m. …during the _summer_, for no reason?" PJ exclaimed, though it was muffled because he had his face in his pillow. "Turn. It. Off."

"Gladly," Justin muttered. He reached for his cell phone (wasn't that everyone's alarm clock these days?) which he'd kept under his pillow. It wasn't there. Actually, the alarm made it seem like the phone was…

Shoot. The phone must have fallen between the bed and the wall behind it when Justin moved during sleep. Since the phone was plastic, he couldn't use magic to turn it off. This meant he actually had to get up…and hope his phone was okay after the fall.

Reluctantly, Justin dragged himself down the bunk bed ladder, somehow without slipping. By the time he found the phone and turned off the stupid alarm, he was nearly, almost awake. So, as he let out a yawn, he threw on a shirt and headed for the hallway. "I'm going…" Justin trained off when he noticed PJ was snoring again. "…and you don't care. Fair enough."

Justin stumbled into the hallway and down the stairs. Chances were, no one would be awake yet, so he might as well go straight down to the lair and make some more calls. Some of the monster hunters had been in different time zones, or just not picked up when he'd tried to contact them the day before.

Therefore, he blinked in surprise when Teddy and her mother were in the kitchen, chatting over freshly brewed coffee. Startled, they glanced up as he approached. "'Morning, Justin," Teddy said. Her forced tone was upbeat, but she sounded tired, and yawned as she spoke. "What are you doing up? You looked like you were about to pass out last night."

"Phone fell…alarm on…" Justin mumbled as he went to sit on one of the kitchen stools. Walking downstairs had made him sleepy again, to the point of being unable to form coherent sentences. "Magic…plastic…bunk bed ladder…"

Amy raised an eyebrow. "I was with you until 'magic' and 'plastic.' But I do know that you look like you could use a cup of coffee."

"Thanks, Mrs. Duncan," Justin said. Of course, he'd always been a tea drinker. Actually, he couldn't even really remember ever having coffee. But given this early hour and his exhaustion, he couldn't say no to readily available caffeine. In fact, the promise of this improved his speaking ability enough to ask, "What are you two doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep. Had a lot on my mind," Teddy answered with a shrug. Amy nodded in agreement as she gave Justin a steaming mug of coffee.

When Justin took a sip, he nearly spit it out. It was _strong_, and he usually put a decent amount of sugar in his tea. "Sugar, please…" Justin said, trying to be polite as possible. "And lots of it."

Teddy passed him the nearby sugar canister, along with a teaspoon. "Not a big coffee drinker, huh?"

"I've always been partial to tea," Justin explained. While he added sugar to his coffee, he glanced at Teddy's face. Of course, there was definite fatigue, but Justin picked up some guilt as well. Actually, she looked like she'd spend the night emotionally torturing herself, and she might cry any second. He'd seen a similar, strained look on Juliet's face when she realized she would have to surrender to the mummy's curse. Teddy's expression wasn't as intense, but Justin still made the connection. "Hey, are you okay?"

"As okay as anyone can be in this situation, I guess," Teddy said. Then she shook her head. "What about you?"

Justin shrugged. He didn't want to worry them with the upsetting details of how he was having trouble finding back up. "I'm better, now that I've had some sleep."

There was silence as they all realized no one was going to say anything meaningful. Since Teddy was right in front of him Justin ended up staring. Naturally, he found her attractive - she looked just like the love of his life. But oddly enough, he absolutely wasn't _attracted to_ her. She felt…more like a younger sister or cousin, someone he needed to protect. He supposed it made sense, because it would be weird if he dated his ex-girlfriend's great-granddaughter. _Super_ weird.

The silence growing too awkward for Justin's liking, he turned to Amy. "So, where's Charlie? I'm no expert, but aren't babies usually awake early?"

"Usually. Not today, though," Amy answered. "I guess the excitement of yesterday even wore her out. She and Bob are still sleeping downstairs."

At that, he glanced out to the terrace, where Harper was passed out on a lounge chair. "Oh yeah. I wonder how Harper did - "

"Will you all please just _be quiet_?"

From where he'd slept on the couch, Gabe half-turned to glare at those in the kitchen. "What is it, seven a.m.? I don't even get up this early during the school year!"

Even though Amy was about to reprimand him for being so rude, Justin quickly slid off his stool. "Sorry Gabe, I'll get out of here. Need to do some research in the lair anyway." He then did a double-take towards Gabe, who had been assigned to Max's room. "Couldn't stand the smell?" he guessed sympathetically.

"Partly, but I just prefer a bed that's actually _there_. I'm picky that way," Gabe joked.

Justin tried to figure that one out for a good thirty seconds before he finally said, "You know what, it's really too early for me to understand anything to do with Max. But get back to me later, and I'll yell at him for it, okay?" When Gabe nodded, Justin grabbed his sugar-filled cup of coffee, then headed down to the lair to make some calls.


End file.
